Working Group for CICM Spirituality
Missionary Spirituality

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Introduction

In August 2000, the General Superior requested all the members of the Congregation to reflect together on the missionary spirituality that should be the guarantee of our common faithfulness to the calls of the Lord. Some questions were posed to help us express and then put into writing our personal experiences. Many confreres responded to this invitation, either in the context of the questions posed, or in developing certain specific themes that seemed to them to be most significant. These responses will be the basis of a process of mutual information and dialogue that is to be pursued for several years.

This article presents some of the most striking elements or those that come up most often in the responses to ten questions posed by the General Superior, following the order in which they were posed. It is true that in this kind of analysis there is the risk of reducing to banality or leveling very personal reflections. It allows us, nevertheless, to discover some common riches that too often remain hidden. It is sometimes difficult for us to express what we experience under the movement of the Holy Spirit, but the quality of the responses reveals a real desire among many to share among ourselves what we have experienced with our confreres around the world and to deepen together our missionary spirituality.

The first question constitutes a kind of introduction to the reflection: why have we chosen to become CICM religious missionaries?

Most of the confreres began by recalling the influences that played a role in the origins of their vocations. Some cite that of a deeply Christian family environment, open and generous; that of youth movements; that of certain teachers who sometimes played a determining role. Very often evoked is the testimony of well-known or occasionally encountered missionaries, generally CICM. What was often striking was their dynamism, their joy of living, their simplicity. Several responses mentioned, in this regard, a missionary or vocational animation, especially for young people, that often made an impression. Missionary dreams are also cited.

As regards deep motivations, the responses show that is it is difficult to recall these after 10, 20 or 50 years. There is a tendency to project onto the past an experience which has evolved in the course of years. Why did one wish to become a missionary?

To make of one's life something beautiful and generous, to commit oneself to the service of the most disadvantaged, to contribute to the development of underprivileged regions or to Christian communities which, however, were pretty much unknown. Many responses, on the other hand, revealed that confreres wanted to become missionaries in a well-determined part of the world.

But beyond these motivations, most of us had an intimate conviction of a personal call to follow Christ and to leave everything for him. It was known that the missionary life was a life of love and thus perhaps also one of renunciation, and this is indeed what was desired.

In addition, it seems that for the majority of those who responded to this question, to become a missionary was also to become a priest. The desire to become a priest came even sometimes in first place. But some confreres added that the life and tasks of the diocesan clergy did not seem very attractive to them.

In regard to the religious life, those that mentioned it generally recognized that they did not understand it or even discovered it after their entry into the novitiate.

The choice of CICM rather than another institute was self-evident for many confreres: it was often the only institute known or recommended by a teacher; one was sure to find there what they were searching for, and one would not feel alone there! For others the choice was more thought-out or due to fortuitous circumstances which later revealed themselves to be providential.

No regret was perceived in the responses, even in those who spoke of a sometimes painful and disconcerting discovery of the demands of the Lord.

A second question was on the support we have been able to benefit from in the course of our lives.

The responses are very diverse and often linked to the concrete circumstances of each of us or the difficulties encountered. These can be grouped into three categories.

1. A more and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ and the deepening of a life of faith in a faithful God which never ceases to call one to go forward;

- prayer and the liturgical celebrations, in particular, the Eucharist, of which several confreres emphasize the importance in their lives:

- and for some the devotion to the Virgin Mary.

- Several confreres also emphasize the regular spiritual guidance, the annual retreats, the times of renewal, the readings of contemporary testimonies.

2. The CICM community, either as the Congregation as such or, more specifically, community life which is very diverse according to the circumstances. A good number of us appreciate the cordiality which characterizes the relations among confreres and their family spirit, the example and encouragement of the older confreres, that fact of being accepted as we are, in particular in the international communities, the friendship of some confreres and their support in difficulties.

- Several confreres underlined the fact that they are happy in the tasks that respond to their deepest desires at the same time as being attentive to the needs of others.

- Working in a team with confreres, sisters and laity was mentioned several times.

- It should be noted that the responses to question ten complete and provide nuances to what has been said here.

3. The welcome received in the local Christian communities and their witness to a living faith or the action of the Spirit;

- the conviction of being the bearer of hope and witness of a saving God.

- Several responses spoke of the evolution of missionary practices and more generally of the life of the Church to which they are happy to be able to contribute without, however, condemning the past.

A third question was about the scriptural texts that most inspire us.

The responses are very different.

Among the texts most often cited and sometimes commented upon, are those that illuminate God's plan; those that reveal His goodness, His mercy and His pardon; those that speak of the love of Jesus for the poorest with whom it goes as far as identifying; those which recall us to the demands of a life in the footsteps of Christ or his mission.

Several responses underline the importance of the prayer of the psalms in the daily office.

Others say that the reading of recent commentaries has been beneficial to them and has permitted them to discover the richness of Scriptures that had been somewhat neglected until then.

Still others speak of an evolution in the choice of texts in function of circumstances or the liturgical cycle and recognize that the meditation of these texts is necessary in their life of witnessing the Good News. Several add that it is only in the field that they have truly discovered the Word of God which was until then simply study material, and sometimes even because they had to comment upon them or participate in biblical reflection groups.

A fourth question asks us to explain some fundamental elements of our missionary spirituality.

A preliminary observation can be made from reading the responses: it is sometimes difficult to be precise about what is understood by spirituality. The question has been understood in different ways and there appears to be some confusion between spirituality and missionary spirit, two terms which, in any case, overlap in part.

For most of our confreres, what is of first importance is to live a personal relationship with Christ who calls us to walk with him. They wish to be the witnesses of the Reign of God in following Jesus and trying to build a better world of justice and of peace.

Some of us prefer to speak of the universal brotherhood that they aim to promote in living the Cor unum et anima una which should characterize our communities and to open themselves to all those to whom we are sent.

Many of the responses recognize that our mission demands a real integration in the local situation, an incarnation some say, and a communion with the Christian communities, a progressive inculturation of the biblical message, attentive to the action of the Holy Spirit which precedes us and which is at work everywhere in the world.

Some of us recall, in relation to this, that they must let themselves be evangelized by the poor with whom they are called to share life, sufferings, joys and even anger. They are our spirituality teachers.

Many responses underline one or another demand of our ctcm life, among others the ad extra which is more socio-cultural than geographic and which invites us to a kind of always renewing kenose to multiple aspects.

Still others affirm that for them, it is a matter of letting themselves be converted before trying to convert others, of rediscovering with the local communities what it is to be Christian rather than imposing socio-cultural models.

In several responses, dynamism can be noted as well as a spirituality which is more Kingdom-centered than Church-centered, a renewed vision of mission with everything that it implies of the presence of the other, of dialogue, of respect and esteem, of total availability and of simplicity of life.

Some responses try to express in a few key words the essence of a missionary spirituality:

•:• to love God, to love others, to love the country that has received me;

•:• to let myself be known by Christ without reservations;

•:• for me "to live is the Christ who calls me every day to follow him";

•:• "with him, through him and in him" in all things;

•:• to be the grain of wheat which disappears in the earth to become the life that bursts forth

around me;

•:• the other is for me a new face of Christ, his real presence;

•:• sent by Christ, I must become another Christ;

•:• "when I am weak, then I am strong";

•:• "nothing is impossible for God" and to believe this truly in my daily life.

Several confreres emphasize the contemplative dimension of their missionary life and of personal prayer to which they dedicate long moments every day: their own faithfulness is rooted in the listening to a faithful God.

Still others declare that their spirituality is inspired more and more by contemporary movements that they have progressively discovered, such as the Charismatic Renewal or the Legion of Mary.

One observation arises out of the reading of very diverse and very personal responses: our spirituality is generally rooted in our daily experience. Some confreres even speak of spirituality of the street, or of the periphery, of frontiers.

Most among us recognize, moreover, that their spirituality has evolved in the course of the years in function of circumstances.

In relation to this, some of us appreciate the fact that the Congregation does not impose on all its members a standard model of missionary spirituality.

On the other hand, some responses revealed some anxiety in the face of the ever greater differentiation of the spirituality that animates us and thus in the face of ever greater missionary practices.

The fifth question completes the preceding and asks us to explain how our relationship with Christ has become more profound during the course of the years.

Most of the confreres recognize that this relationship has evolved since their entrance into the Congregation. Now, they perceive the presence of Christ in their lives differently.

Some of us even speak of a conversion. Christ has become truly someone, a companion on the way, a guide, a brother, a friend.

Others speak of a more mature relationship or a less sentimental one or one which has been freed of stereotypes and traditional imagery that is not very biblically based. This rediscovery of Christ is above all that of his love for sinners, the poor, the least advantaged, and the lost sheep, that of his refusal to judge. It is sometimes the discovery of his freedom in the face of the socioeconomic or religious structures of his time, in the face of public opinion that expected from him something different than his mission required of him.

Several confreres underline the link between the deepening of their relationship with Christ and their faith in a God of love.

•:• It is in accepting always more faithfully the love that God offers us and in engaging more

generously in following Christ that we truly discover who he is.

•:• We must love in truth, to say yes again and again everyday in order to learn to know

personally to whom we have dedicated our whole lives.

Along the same line, some of us specify that in seeking to become Christ for others they have deepened their own relationship with him.

Many factors have contributed to this deepening.

Most often cited are prayer and more particularly the celebration of the Eucharist with the local communities in the framework of the liturgical year. Some also speak of meditation on the Gospels. The reading of works that present a renewed Christology or testimonies of men and women who have encountered Christ have been beneficial.

Others say that they discover Christ in the faces of the poor and the humble.

In this regard, several recognize that the experience of their own weakness or their failure has made them better understand the need of an ever-deeper communion with Christ who was faithful to his mission and obedient until death. Some responses evoked the need to be < true » in speaking of Christ: the catechism, the homilies, the different kinds of explanations somehow impose a deepening of one's own relationship with him of whom one speaks.

Finally, several confreres speak of the role of Mary in this deepening. A renewed and better-understood devotion to his mother leads very naturally to Christ. Mary shows us the way and this is her role in the life of the Church.

The sixth question: how and in what way are the local churches a source of inspiration for you?

A first observation: these local communities are very diverse and therefore so are what they can bring to us.

In general, emphasis is on the very simple faith of the local peoples, their generosity and the quality of hospitality that characterizes them despite their poverty in very many cases. Many responses give more particular testimonies:

•:• patience in times of trial and trust in God,

•:• engagement in the service of the Christian community or of society,

•:• the sense of the sacred,

•:• the importance of human relations, of dialogue or celebration.

Several confreres recognize that the life of the Christian communities has made them discover other ways of being Christian and thus also the relative character of a great many elements of their own Christianity.

Some responses evoke the witness of believers in other religions, which question the faith of the missionary.

Finally, it is to be noted that several responses recall that the Christian communities have taught us and given us a great deal. Nevertheless we must keep a critical attitude in the face of abuses or deviance that we observe. This critical attitude contributes, moreover, to our own life of faith.

A seventh question asked us to indicate the persons who have influenced us the most in our CICM life.

Several confreres mention parents, people close to them or teachers whose faith was contagious. Some also cite saints, for example Saint Francis of Assisi, some prophetic figures of our time, leaders of the local church, engaged laity, sisters, some striking personalities whether Christian or not who have sometimes been met by chance.

Almost all the responses cite by name confreres who are particularly generous or optimistic, or who pray, or who know how to listen and encourage. A good number of them would be undoubtedly astonished to learn to what extent they have exercised a positive influence around them or how much their friendship has been beneficial.

Some responses also mention dynamic and open communities.

The eighth question is about the texts of prayers and all kinds of writings that have particularly inspired us.

As could be expected, the responses to this are very diverse.

Prayers of biblical inspiration are often mentioned, liturgical prayers, prayers composed by certain saints, sometimes also the rosary. The prayer of the 1999 Chapter is also mentioned.

Some confreres have themselves composed a prayer for their personal use. Others would like to see the adoption by all of the same congregational prayer.

Many responses reveal that brief passages from the Gospels or from Saint Paul or other well-known authors give support to the reflection or the prayers of our confreres.

As far as reading itself goes, mention is made of texts published by confreres, most often in the provincial bulletins, official texts such as Kindling the Fire or Directives for Mission.

A good number of recent authors are cited: works of spirituality or theology, biographies, even novels. Some journals are mentioned, TV broadcasts documentaries.

It can be concluded from the responses that while some confreres read a great deal, others admit that they read very little or only with an utilitarian aim: e.g. in view of preparing a homily. Reading is rather a leisure activity.

A ninth question concerns the place of the Virgin Mary in our life.

The responses reveal a great diversity, perhaps even some difficulty in approaching the subject.

Some confreres begin by posing the question: What is the real meaning of the "title and patronage of the Immaculate Heart of Mary" in the spirituality of the Congregation? Very few responses mention this, other than as a place of formerly celebrated Marian pilgrimage which was linked to the foundation of the Institute.

The role of the Virgin Mary in the life of our confreres is related to the private sphere and does not have a specific congregational character.

Some confreres declare that they have nothing in particular to note. Others admit that Mary occupies little place in their lives or that they have little devotion for her.

Still others say that she is simply an example of faith and availability, an example of others, some add.

A certain number of responses make explicit the progressive state of abandonment or even formal rejection of a traditional piety that reflects a Mariology that is out of date today. Several confreres declare, nonetheless, that they have discovered little by little the true personality of the Virgin Mary and her role in the life of the Church as well as in each one of us. They speak of a relationship that is less emotional, more mature and better based theologically. Mary reflects Jesus and his liberating mission. In this way of thinking, reference is made more often to the Virgin of the Magnificat rather than the Virgin of the Ave Maria.

On the other hand, a good number of confreres affirm that they are faithful to traditional practices, the rosary for example, or the Angelus or the month of May. Their devotion has evolved little in the course of the years, but it is more motivated. They emphasize especially the maternal role of Mary in their lives: she is a very close mother, a confidante, a protector, and a mediator. She is especially an example, she who among others keeps in the background while remaining active and present.

Several confreres recognize, in this regard, family influences, those of Marian movements, sometimes also those of local devotion or known places of pilgrimage.

A last question concerns the support found among the confreres in general and in the CICM communities in particular.

A good number among us declare that they have found among their confreres a real support in their missionary life, most often in the example of a generous engagement, the ardor of work or prayer.

Some specify that they have found this in the welcome and the personal encouragement that they have received, especially in difficult moments, in lasting friendships and in spiritual accompaniment.

Other responses are rather negative.

Some regret the little real interest we have for each other, for who we are, or for what we personally experience.

Some regret the tensions that sometimes manifest themselves among us and of a more general kind of individualism that characterizes us: the Congregation is a kind of impersonal entity that gathers us, without us encountering each other in depth.

There were some responses with rather critical reflections on the Cor unum et anima una, or on the way internationality is experienced.

Some even declared that they have suffered because of their confreres: lack of understanding, jealousy, and calumny. But, it is added, even these unpleasant experiences allow one to acquire a greater maturity.

Contrasting responses were also given as concerns life in community, whether these are small or big communities.

An initial observation: many confreres have lived or live alone and very often without regret. Some of us even declared that living and working alone has allowed them to become better integrated in local realities. In their opinion, the life style of certain communities isolates them from their environment. The community for them is the parishioners and some friends.

However this may be, a good number of confreres recognize that they have found in the CICM communities a real support: in the family spirit that characterizes them, in the community prayer, in the team work, in the moments of relaxation, in the sharing. Several even declare that they owe much to life in community, that this has allowed them to surmount difficulties and given them the chance to be themselves and be accepted as such. Along the same line, many confreres appreciate the many kinds of meetings that allow them to meet from time to time all together, whether or not they live alone.

On the other hand, several responses express a real dissatisfaction:

•:• a lack of feeling truly supported by the community as such, nor encouraged in one's life and

personal tasks; much to the contrary, some even add;

•:• the same regrets concern the meetings, even if they are pleasant. It is the lack of sharing that

comes up most often in these regrets;

•:• we hardly share among ourselves what is at the heart itself of our life;

•:• our relationships are rather superficial, even if they are cordial.

Some recognize that it is sometimes difficult to share among brothers their interior riches as their poverty: we have not been formed for this. They would like to be able to do so, but they add, one could say that at this level the community ceases to function as such: we don't need each other.

Some say that they share better and more deeply with others than with their own confreres, they find elsewhere the support they need.

What can be concluded from this first reading of the often very personal testimonies?

The missionary spirituality that animates us is often rooted in our daily life. By letting ourselves be questioned everywhere in the world by local situations, events and persons who surround us, we discover the call of Christ and his concrete demands he makes on us, in the light of the Gospel and under the movement of the Holy Spirit. Our missionary spirituality is thus both incarnated and very diverse.

On the other hand, this spirituality that we experience, and which is in some way a part of ourselves, does not often find the opportunity to be expressed in dialogue or to become a common richness as a grace for a brotherly sharing that respects the autonomy of persons and the freedom of the Spirit.

In fact, a good number of responses deem that this question touches one of the weaknesses of the missionary life as it is lived in the Congregation: its missionary dimension in the broad sense of the term lacks depth and thus often also truth. We do not truly know each other, even if we live together. Several confreres avow, moreover, that it is only in responding to these questions that they have been able to share, for the first time, the best of themselves.

A brotherly sharing of the "gift of God", in whatever form this takes, demands an effort of analysis and truth. Because of this, it can contribute to the deepening and purification of our personal spirituality in dialogue with our confreres: together we are called to follow Christ more closely and to carry on his mission in the world.

 

Ref.: Chronica, 72th year, n. 5, June 2002 (Article also published in french language).